Poland will today become the first country to deliver Leopard tanks to Ukraine, with the transfer taking place on the first anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
The decision will be officially confirmed this afternoon by Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, who has already arrived in Kyiv on a previously unannounced visit.
This morning, Polish news website Onet, citing officials, reported that the first Polish Leopard tanks are already in Ukraine. Numerous other outlets – including Bloomberg as well as Poland’s PAP and AIR state press agencies – also cite officials saying that the transfer will be announced by Morawiecki today.
📍Ukraińska armia otrzymała już od Polski pierwszą partię czołgów Leopard 2 – potwierdziła Kancelaria Premiera w rozmowie z @wirtualnapolska.
Oficjalnie poinformować ma o tym podczas wizyty w Kijowie premier Mateusz Morawiecki.https://t.co/cKxz8r2kY7
— Michał Wróblewski (@wroblewski_m) February 24, 2023
Polish government spokesman Piotr Müller announced this morning that the prime minister had travelled to Kyiv today “to give a clear and quantifiable signal of continued support in defending Ukraine against Russia”.
He was greeted by Ukrainian counterpart Denys Shmyhal – with the pair laying flowers at a memorial to those killed in the war – and then later met President Volodymyr Zelensky, with whom he visited a hospital treating soldiers injured in battle.
Krzysztof Sobolewski, the secretary general of Poland’s ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party, told broadcaster TVP that Morawiecki would also probably attend a meeting of Ukraine’s parliament.
Premier @MorawieckiM 🇵🇱🤝🇺🇦Prezydent Ukrainy @ZelenskyyUa
Polska konsekwentnie wspiera działania na rzecz bezpieczeństwa Ukrainy i Europy. pic.twitter.com/vfC0DkPDX0
— Piotr Müller (@PiotrMuller) February 24, 2023
Poland has been one of Ukraine’s strongest and most vocal allies during the war, providing humanitarian, diplomatic and military support. Morawiecki in March last year became – along with his Czech and Slovenian counterparts – the first international leader to visit Kyiv after Russia’s invasion.
The Polish government has been at the forefront of efforts to create a coalition of countries willing to donate Leopard tanks to Ukraine. It also publicly lobbied Germany – which produces and exports the tanks – to grant permission for them to be transferred to Ukraine.
On 11 January, President Andrzej Duda announced that Poland had decided to hand over a company of Leopard tanks to Kyiv. Poland has also been training Ukrainian soldiers in use of the tanks.
Germany itself subsequently also committed to send Leopards to Ukraine, as did Spain and Finland, reports Politico Europe. The UK is transferring some of its Challenger 2 tanks while the US has said it will provide M1 Abrams tanks.
Main image credit: Erik Morren/1GNC Münster (under CC BY 2.0)
Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
